The Blue Bell Trail River View Platform is Now Open!
Stop by and Enjoy a Great View of the Little River and Enjoy all the Spring Wildflowers that are Popping Up Daily throughout the TRWA.
The final stage of the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum Bluebell Trail Project, the River View Platform, has now been completed. We still have are waiting on two 4-foot bench frames, that will be installed on the platform, to match the bench at the other end of the trail and a few other fun things for visitors to enjoy. The platform overlooks the river but also has a back view of the moss covered stones, which were once the retaining wall for old Highway 73, that is now the main path of the TRWA.
The Bluebell Trail project at the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum (TRWA) was started in July 2023, with a simple plan formulated by Mark Seder in 2020. Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are a native plant for this area. The plan was to create a trail lined with Bluebells that was closer to the Little River than the original TRWA trail. We had a natural entry but had several obstacles to overcome, including creating stairs for the end of the Bluebell Trail. Myself along with TRWA project superstars, Rodney & Allison Pearson, the Bluebell Trail planned in the details of the trail but changed as needed at each stage of construction to flow with the natural contour of the area. Allison kept Rodney and myself in line and came up with the shaping of the path. Besides the laboring Rodney provided much of the detail design that was used in creating and positioning the structures on the trail.
All the boards used for the decking and benches were cut from the massive Honey Locust tree that fell last March at the TRWA. Captain Dave's Little River Artistry, in Townsend, provided Rodney Pearson and Dan Dickie the use of his sawmill to cut the locust into 2 inch thick boards. Rodney then trimmed them and put a preservative stain on each. A big thanks to them for saving us thousands of dollars on not having to purchase the decking boards and bench boards plus the boards are incredibly beautiful.
View of the Little River from the new River View platform on the TRWA Bluebell Trail.
TRWA Bluebell Trail Entrance. Over 300 of the Bluebells were planted last Summer and a few planted in 2021. In the next few years the bluebells should grow into a dense grouping on each side of the trail.